Progressive
For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 1 Corinthians 15:9-10
Working as a team leader, you get the unique blessing of having new team members starting under you. Most of us can remember when we first started in our new position filled with a great degree of excitement. There was a degree of reservation and to some extent fear as well. Can I do this job? What if I do not know how to do this? What if I cannot pick up what I need to know fast enough? It does not need to be a job for this feeling to overcome us. It could be a situation we have never dealt with or a project. What I advise my new team members is a philosophy that has typically helped them navigate through those times of worry. I simply tell them, “It is not where you are today that matters. It is how you progress.” That is a growth mindset that lets them know it is not about how they measure up against others. In fact, it is not even about where they are today. It is about where they will be in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Similarly, God does not worry about where we are in our journey of faith. He focuses on how we progress. I love both the humility and selflessness of Paul in today’s verse. As he describes the Good News of Christ’s resurrection, he noted all who saw Jesus including himself, and he admitted how poor of a person he was before meeting Christ (I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle). But we also note just how hard he worked throughout scripture to share God’s message to all people. His writing the majority of The New Testament is but a small sample of the tireless work he did. To him, it was God’s ‘special favor’ that allowed him to do so and not his own doing. At the end of the 10th verse, note when Paul said, “yet it was not I but God who was working through me by His grace.” He had transformed from ‘not even worthy’ to ‘God working through me.’ This is what it means to grow by faith.
God’s message to us is that we all can transform into working examples of Christ. Whether it be works or deeds, it all has value to God. James 2:20b emphasizes this stating, “Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?” Our own works do not earn us either salvation or even praise from God. However, if we are truly doing God’s will, we will grow in our faith, and our works are shining examples of His working through us. That is all Paul is trying to point out. Let us continue focusing on the special favor God poured out on us to share the Good News to others. Where can you give greater thanks to God for His work through you? What results can provide clarity on the growth in your relationship with God? My prayer is that in our journey of faith, we remember it is not where we are that matters to God. It is how we progress. Amen.